As experts in the manufacture and assembly of printed circuit boards, we work to make our blog a helpful resource on PCB topics and the industries that we work with, including automotive, consumer electronics, aerospace and many more. Here you'll find insights into PCB design, tech trends, assembly issues, and trending topics in the general news media as they relate to printed circuit board technology.

4 Costly Printed Circuit Board Design Mistakes

Printed circuit board design can be extremely complicated and mistakes made in this stage of the electronic design process can be costly. Advanced Circuits is your PCB manufacturing partner that can help at each step of the printed circuit board fabrication process, including as early as the design stage. We provide free circuit board design tools like FreeDFM to check your PCB design files for possible manufacturability issues prior to placing your order. Advanced Circuits also offers an easy to use and powerful PCB Design Software, PCB Artist with professional-grade design features and in-app quoting an ordering.

While there countless things that could go wrong during the PCB design process, below we list 4 costly mistakes to watch out for. For more information about how our FreeDFM software can help you identify manufacturability issues in your design, click here.

Check Your PCB Design for Landing Pattern Errors

Printed circuit board landing patterns include libraries of electric mechanisms which use a schematic symbol. There will be no issue if the design is followed through thoroughly. However, if the libraries are not followed correctly, the schematic symbol must be manually drawn. It is very easy to make a mistake when manually drawing a landing pattern and this situation should be avoided if possible.

It is imperative for high current traces to be wide enough for proper flow. If a trace mandatorily must be capable of handling a current greater than several hundred milliamps; the minimum width typically will not suffice in this situation. Measure the appropriate width for each printed circuit board design before production.

Too Long High-Speed Traces in Your PCB Design

High-speed signals must only follow the quickest, leveled paths available. Too long of high-speed traces may cause the PCB to not function properly.

Check Your PCB Design for Optimal Wireless Antenna Layout

The layout of the antenna is crucial to proper wireless functionality. This part of the printed circuit board design process arguably bears the most risk for mistakes. The antenna and transceiver must be equaled in order for maximum power transfer.

Advanced Circuits has been the leading PCB quick turn manufacturer since 1989. We specialize in both Small quantity, Quckturn, and Production printed circuit board Quantities. Advanced Circuits is MIL-PRF-31032, MIL-PRF-55110G, AS9100C, ISO 9001:2008 Certified, IPC 6012 Class 2, 3 and 3A Qualified, and ITAR Registered. Advanced Circuits, with divisions in Aurora, CO, Tempe, AZ, and Maple Grove, MN is ranked among the top 3 circuit board fabricators in North America and is well-known for its expedited turn time capabilities and its reliable best on-time shipping record.